JAIPUR: Natives of Panchayawala village woke up to panic a day after the area witnessed ammonia gas leak; the gas started leaking again on Tuesday morning from the storage tank of the same ice factory.

After the police officials, civil defense and fire department temporarily sealed off the leakage on Monday evening by inserting a wooden stick in the valve; the gas started seeping out again on Tuesday morning.

PCB clueless on source of illegal dumping of chemicals

About 2.48 crore litres of effluents generated by nearly 55 industrial units in Eloor and Edayar are let out into the Periyar River daily after primary treatment, against the prescribed norm of ‘zero discharge’ by industries to prevent pollution of rivers. According to the official data available with the Kerala State Pollution Control Board, there are 270 industrial units in the Eloor and Edayar region.

A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Tuesday suggested that no polluting and chemical industries be allowed to be constructed in the Edayar-Eloor areas and a permanent check dam be built to prevent pollution of drinking water sources in the Periyar. The Bench directed the State government to express its views on these proposals.

The Bench, comprising Justice C.N. Ramachandran Nair and Justice C.K. Abdul Rehim, issued the directive on a writ petition filed by the Eloor Malineekarana Virudha Samithi.

JAIPUR: Ten investment proposals worth Rs 9,800 crore will be tabled for approval by the state Cabinet committee in a meeting scheduled on Wednesday. If cleared, these companies, ranging form automobiles to automatic teller machines, cements and pharmaceuticals, will open their manufacturing units in the state.

The proposals include Brazilian firm Perto which plans to set up a manufacturing plant for automatic teller machines with an investment of Rs 200 crore. The unit will have a capacity of 1,000 machines per month and will come up in Mahindra Walled City.

Five non-government organisations representing victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster on Monday described the latest decision taken at the meeting of Group of Ministers to send 350 tonnes of hazardous waste from the abandoned Union Carbide pesticide plant to Germany for safe disposal was a vindication of their long-standing demand on the issue.

They described this as a “minor but significant victory” in their 22 year long battle. At a press conference here, the organisations pointed out that the GoM’s decision has highlighted the toxic nature of Union Carbide’s waste and the ongoing dangers posed by the thousands of tonnes of hazardous waste in and around the abandoned pesticide factory.

Apart from India’s official delegation, some of the business houses in the country are also gearing up to be part of the global climate forum, Rio+20 Earth Summit, to start in Brazil later this month.

Stressing that businesses have a leading role to play in India’s transition into a green economy, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Global Compact Network in India (GCNI) are taking a delegation of Indian business leaders to the Rio+20 Corporate Sustainability Forum.

Chemical manufacturer Orica has been charged with 279 environmental offences for allegedly discharging excessive levels of cyanide into Gladstone Harbour.

Union home minister P Chidambaram, who is heading a Group of Ministers (GoM) on Bhopal gas disaster, said here on Tuesday the group will meet on June 8 decide on the remediation of 390 metric tonne

Union home minister P. Chidambaram said on Tuesday that the toxic waste lying at the abandoned Union Carbide pesticide plant in the state capital has not been disposed of till now since three state governments refused to allow the disposal of hundreds of tonnes of hazardous waste in their territory.

Mr Chidambaram was addressing a press conference in the state capital after visiting the Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) set up for the victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster along with Union ministers — Salman Khurshid and V. Narayanasamy. Outside BMHRC, the home minister was shown black flags by some Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parsihad activists.